Double defeat for plucky Rams

DESPITE putting up a bold show, injury hit Ramsbottom were knocked out of the Worsley Cup on Saturday by a powerful Nelson side.

Once again luck seemed to be against them when they lost the toss in cloudy conditions and were asked to bat.

Things got worse when professional Kartik needlessly ran himself out with the score on 17.

Two further wickets fell in the 30's but, all the while, Keith Webb was striking the ball well and looked in total control.

In partnership with John Harrison he took the score into the 70's before falling victim to a magnificent piece of fielding.

This seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Rams and they slumped quickly to 88 for 7 and an early finish beckoned. Pride then took over as first Mark Gowers (22), then Michael Haslam (9*), and, finally, Chris Eardley (26*) put a hint of respectability to the score.

In reply, Scuderi gave his side the edge with 32 in just 19 balls.

This had given the opposition a massive initiative and they could afford to play with great caution against the Ramsbottom professional Kartik.

The Rammy lads stuck at it and applied the pressure - managing to dislodge the obdurate Garaghty with the score on 101.

The story could have been different when, with the score on 117, the ex-Cumberland player Paul Beech was dropped at mid-wicket.

He then plundered 14 runs off the next over before a change of bowling brought about his dismissal.

From then on it proved no easy task for Nelson as they started to lose wickets while trying to cross the finishing line which they eventually managed with less than three overs to spare.

The following day, Ramsbottom suffered an ignominious defeat against local rivals Haslingden.

Once again, having lost the toss, they were invited to bat. They made an excellent start with professional Kartik showing his best batting form of the season.

72 runs were on the board off just 16 overs when the Haslingden captain turned to Michael Blomley.

Three balls later, a rank long hop saw Kartik pull the ball into the hands of a grateful Steve Dearden on the mid wicket boundary.

This heralded the start of a catastrophic collapse with Blomley the architect in chief and despite some late resistance from Gowers and Horrocks the Rams capitulated to an inadequate 161 all out.

Haslingden made short work of this total thanks to fine knocks from sub pro Wanasinghe and the evergreen Michael Ingham.